One year ago today, on September 28, 2022, President Biden hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over a half century. At the conference, the administration called on stakeholders to make commitments towards ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases. NCA answered this call for action, writing a letter committing to raising awareness of the CACFP.
Read More
A study was published in June of 2023 that found that children with child care-provided meals had lower odds of food insecurity, having poor health, or being admitted to the hospital compared to children with parent-provided meals.
Read More
Can pumpkin pie fit into the meal pattern? You might be surprised to learn the answer!
Read More
Beth Martino, CEO of Three Square Food Bank in Nevada, explained her organizations experience with unnecessary regulatory barriers hindering children’s ability to access child nutrition programs.
Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their eleventh CACFP guidance memo for 2023. The memorandum provides updated guidance on feeding infants and the infant meal pattern requirements and replaces a previous memo from 2018 (CACFP 02-2018). The memo incorporates updated breastmilk storage recommendations, infant formula food safety considerations, and information on crediting grains in ounce equivalents.
Read More
Today, September 19, the Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Greg Landsmen and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici to permanently:
• Increase reimbursement rates by 10 cent for each meal and snack
• Eliminate the tiering of family day care homes
• Allow family day care home providers to claim their own children’s meals for reimbursement
Do you work at a State agency in a position supporting the CACFP? Join NCA’s State Agency Collaboration meeting to earn about the newest NCA resources, hear about what’s happening in CACFP policy, get advocacy updates, and provide feedback about how we can support you.
Read More
Looking for food program training? Delve into a comprehensive range of vital topics tailored to the unique needs of Head Start programs.
Read More
Check out these virtual events coming up at NCA!
Read More
Check out these virtual events happening in July at NCA!
Read More
Looking for food program training? Join us each day for workshops on nutrition, program administration, operations, management, and more.
Read More
Join us as a presenter at the National Child Nutrition Conference in San Diego! We’re now accepting presentation proposals.
Read More
One year ago today, on September 28, 2022, President Biden hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over a half century. At the conference, the administration called on stakeholders to make commitments towards ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases. NCA answered this call for action, writing a letter committing to raising awareness of the CACFP.
Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their eleventh CACFP guidance memo for 2023. The memorandum provides updated guidance on feeding infants and the infant meal pattern requirements and replaces a previous memo from 2018 (CACFP 02-2018). The memo incorporates updated breastmilk storage recommendations, infant formula food safety considerations, and information on crediting grains in ounce equivalents.
Read More
Today, September 19, the Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Greg Landsmen and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici to permanently:
• Increase reimbursement rates by 10 cent for each meal and snack
• Eliminate the tiering of family day care homes
• Allow family day care home providers to claim their own children’s meals for reimbursement
The USDA released a final rule on child nutrition program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed. This rule is one of many steps that USDA is taking to ensure that federal child nutrition programs can serve the millions of children who depend on them to reach their full potential.
Read More
USDA released a memo (SEBT 03-2023) to provide information to assist states in preparing to implement summer EBT in 2024. The memo explains how to identify, certify, and verify eligible children.
Read More
The USDA has released the Reimbursement Rates for 2023-2024. Rates are effective from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.
Read More
The Child and Adult Care Food Program has new creditable foods listed on the USDA Food Buying Guide! If you are new to the FBG, this interactive tool allows for easy display, search, and navigation of food yield information. In addition, users can compare yield information, create a favorite foods list, and access tools, such as the Recipe Analysis Workbook (RAW) and the Product Formulation Statement Workbook.
Read More
The Child and Adult Care Food Program community asked for more Spanish resources to be available on the National CACFP Sponsors Association website and we heard you! Available now in Spanish are more resources to help sponsors and providers with meal pattern requirements, best practices, and so much more!
Read More
Serving meals to young people year-round benefits children, families, and care providers. To do this, many providers transition from operating the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-Risk Afterschool (ARAS) during the school year to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) while school is out. For an overview of the main differences between SFSP and CACFP ARAS, see the comparison chart below.
Read More
NCA understands that the end of flexibilities will cause challenges for many CACFP sponsors and providers and we commend your continued commitment to providing nutritious meals and snacks to the children or adults in your care. In preparation for the end of the additional reimbursement, we have collected the following resources to help you successfully provide meals even if your available budget decreases.
Read More
The Exhibit A Grains Tool has a new feature that allows users to select their Program and Meal to filter the search results to only creditable grain items for their specific Program.
Read More
CDC created three new fact sheets for Early Care and Education (ECE) providers about Early Child Nutrition and Feeding. The fact sheets offer tips and best practices for supporting breastfeeding families, information about safe storage and handling of breastmilk, and strategies for introducing solid foods.
Read More
Can pumpkin pie fit into the meal pattern? You might be surprised to learn the answer!
Read More
How do chestnuts fit into the CACFP meal pattern?
Read More
What do you need to know about sugar limits in yogurt?
Read More
What documentation is needed to serve deli meats in the CACFP?
Read More
Is full-strength juice creditable in the Infant Meal Pattern?
Read More
How do you know what plant-based foods can be credited as a meat/meat alternate?
Read More
Snacks can be a great way to give CACFP participants the nutrients and energy they need between meals. Use this resource to learn more.
Read More
NCA Members can download these meal component activity pages. Each activity page includes crafts, games, recipes and more! Theres a page for each meal component in the CACFP.
Read More
Managing sugar at breakfast time for children is a tall order. If you find that you need a helping hand putting together a low-sugar, creditable breakfast, check out these resources.
Read More
These five CACFP weekly menu templates were designed by us, the National CACFP Sponsors Association, so you can trust that they’re not only tried and true, but also up to speed on the current demands of the CACFP. Use these free fillable menus, and your weekly meal planning will become a breeze. Each one is organized by age, meal, and meal component.
Read More
August 23, 2022 The CACFP is a cornerstone to operations at many child care centers, adult day cares and day care homes. However, many people have never even heard of this crucial program! This blog is for those people. Send this quick guide to parents of children under your care, new employees who are onboarding…
Read More
With so much on the back-to-school agenda, who has time to hunt down worksheets and resources? We’ve got you covered with seven resources for back to school plus a whole year of free motivational posters to keep your space fresh and fun.
Read More
A study was published in June of 2023 that found that children with child care-provided meals had lower odds of food insecurity, having poor health, or being admitted to the hospital compared to children with parent-provided meals.
Read More
FRAC has announced a Request for Proposal (RFP) for subgrants for its Equitable Access in Child Nutrition Programs project, supported by funding through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS). Submit your CACFP proposal by October 3, 2023, at 11:59pm ET.
Read More
A study published in March of 2023, examines the impact of child care on the dietary quality of young children, as well as portrays the need for a more inclusive definition of ‘child care.’ Access to high-quality care supports the academic and social development of your children and is important for all families to reduce socioeconomic disparities.
Read More
Participate by July 14 in a nationwide survey of CACFP Sponsors and Providers being conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Read More
In May 2023, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published a report focused on Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operations during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, March through September 2020, including information on the nationwide waivers that FNS approved for use during that period.
Read More
In April 2023, the Indiana University CACFP Project Team published a study on the barriers, facilitators, and potential strategies to address center-based participation in the CACFP. One of the key barriers to participation shared by study participants included the cumbersome CACFP paperwork. Facilitators to participation included supports provided by stakeholders and sponsors.
Read More
Eleven years ago, Lidia Madrid opened Kidz Korner in Payson, Arizona to see her children and other local children grow up and learn safely in a town where there were limited child care options.
Read More
Shedron Davis is the Founder and Executive Director of Alpha & Omega, and her mission is to empower children to succeed through a healthy lifestyle.
Read More
Jessica Coleman is the children’s day care supervisor and CACFP manager at Generations, an intergenerational daycare in Virginia.
Read More
With experience and credentials like hers, it’s no surprise that the Food and Nutrition Services office selected Andrea Rivera to create a new community food service program at the start of the pandemic.
Read More
Kyle Jackson is an area director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, and a true leader in executing at-risk after school meal operation
Read More
People Attentive to Children Hawaii, PATCH, has a straightforward mission: to support and improve the quality and availability of care for the young people of Hawaii. In fact, this mission is stated so plainly that it could be misunderstood as easy when it is simply direct.
Read More